Container closure



A, ZlMMERLl CONTAINER CLOSURE May 5, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 12, 1957 mm n.

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waff zz'm maf/f May 5,1959 A. ZIMMERLI CONTAINER cLosuRE Filed' Nov. 12, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 5. UV. R f V www 6, M 7 .9 1 Z n, m WY@ Filed NOV. 12. 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 c v Y United States Patent i ce 2835128 v Patented May 5, 1959 comprising a plug which extends outwardly through said openings of said shutter and said cap, with said shutter. maintained in a position in which its opening is in align- 2,885,128 ment with the opening of the cap and with the disruptable 5 portion of the base member overlying the blind passage. CONTAINER CLSURE By extracting said plug, said disruptable portion of the Adolf Zimmerli, Zurich, Switzerland Application November 12, 1957, Serial No. 695,751

3 Claims. (Cl. Z22-541) The present invention relates to a closure for containers such as collapsible tubes, bottles, cans, etc. which unlike the conventional screw cap closures can be opened without removing the closure or any part thereof which is required for closing the container again.

Container closures of this kind are known which comprise a base member through which a passage is provided, a shutter provided with an opening and slidably supported and guided on the base member so as to permit said opening to be brought into and out of alignment with said passage in the base member, and a cap mounted on said base member for rotation substantially about the axis of said passage, said cap overlapping said shutter for retaining it on said base member and having an axial opening which remains in alignment with said passage regardless of the angular position of the cap about its said axis. This cap is coupled with the shutter in such a manner that the opening of the latter can be moved into and out of alignment with the passage in the base member and the axial opening in the cap by rotating the cap about its said axis.

On the other hand, container closures are known the discharge opening of the base member of which is hermetically sealed by a diaphragm which on opening the closure for the first time is pierced, torn, cutout or otherwise disrupted by appropriate means.

In a container closure of the above-mentioned type, such a diaphragm would not be readily accessible because it would be necessary first to move the shutter into the open position and then to disrupt the diaphragm by means of a separate instrument which would have to be introduced through the aligned openings of the shutter and cap.

One object of the present invention is to provide a container closure of the aforesaid type which is secured against inadvertent opening before it is to be opened for the rst time.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a con tainer closure of the said type a disruptable part which hermetically seals the passage in the base member before the container closure is opened for the first time, and means whereby said disruptable part can be disrupted and removed Without resorting to a separate instrument.

Still another object of the invention is to provide means whereby before the closure is to be opened for the first time the opening of the cap is substantially closed so that no dust or dirt can be deposited in that opening or reach the shutter; thereby, such dust or dirt will not contaminate the container contents discharged through that opening afer the closure is rst opened nor could it interfere with the motion of the shutter and cap.

These and other objects are fulfilled according to the present invention by providing in the base member of a container closure of the aforesaid type, a blind passage extending into said base member from the inner side thereof, said blind passage and the outer surface of the base member defining between them a disruptable integral portion of said base member, said disruptable portion `base member will be disrupted and the blind passage opened through the base member.

blind passage and with the opening in the cap for closing said passage.

In order to facilitate a fuller understanding of the invention, specific embodiments thereof will be described hereinafter, by way of example only and with reference'.

to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l shows a closure for a collapsible tube, in the.

condition before it has been opened for the first time, with the shutter and cap Shown in section along the line I-I' of Fig. 5.

Fig. 2 shows the same closure in open condition with the disruptable portion of the base member removed, the

shutter and cap being again shown in section along thel said line I-I.

Fig. 3 is a similar partly sectional view of the closure with the shutter and cap in a position halfway between' their open position as shown in Fig. 2 and their closed position.

Fig. 4 is a similar view, partly in section along the said line I-I, with the shutter and cap in their closed position. Fig. 5 is a viewof the closure with the cap removed,

as seen in direction of the arrow V in Fig. 1, with the` shutter in the same position as in that Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a similar view, with the cap removed and as seen in the direction of the axis of rotation of the shutter, of an alternative embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 7 is a partly sectional view of the alternative em` bodiment of the closure shown in Fig. 6, in the condition before it has been opened for the rst time, showing the i section of the shutter indicated by line VII-VII of Fig. 6

of the shutter indicated by line IX-IX of Fig. 6 aligned with section VIII- VIII of the base member.

The tube closure shown in Figs. l to 5 comprises a base piece 1 which by means of an internal thread 2 is tightly screwed onto a threaded socket 4 provided at the upper part of avcollapsible tube 3. Alternatively, the' base piece 1 could be integral with the cover part 4a of the collapsible tube. The base piece 1 in its lower part has a cylindrical surface 5 and above the latter a spherical surface 6 of a somewhat smaller diameter than the cylindrical surface 5, so that above the latter an annular shoulder 7 is provided in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the base piece. The spherical surface 6 extends up to an inclined plane shoulder 8, above which the head piece has an upper spherical surface 9 which is concentric to the lower one 6 but has a somewhat smallerv radius than it. An initially blind passage 10 which continues the passage 11 of the threaded socket 4 extends' axially into the base piece 1 up to a very small distance from the upper spherical surface 9. In axial alignment with this blind passage 10, an integral plug 28 rises above Simultaneously, the openings of the shutter and cap will be opened by the i removal of the plug therefrom, but the shutter will become free to slide out of alignment with the formerly into the cap opening and prevents unintentional opening of the closure, by opposing rotation of the cap 15 out of that position or beyond that position.

The parts of the closure preferably are made from a tough, resilient synthetic resin such as polyethylene. It is then unnecessary to produce the thread 2 of the base piece in the manufacture of that piece, that thread being automatically obtained by screwing the piece onto the threaded socket 4 of the collapsible tube.

Alternatively, the base piece 1 could be permanently connected to the collapsible tube, for instance by glueing, by welding, or the like. In place of the internal thread 2, the base piece and the tube socket then may have smooth e.g. conical, fitting surfaces at which they are connected. As already mentioned, it would also be possible to make the base piece 1 integral with the cover part 4a of the collapsible tube 3.

The described closures are not only suitable for collapsible tubes but also for bottles, cams, oilers, etc.

I claim:

1. A container closure comprising a base member having an inner and an outer surface, a passage extending from said inner surface into said base member and having a blind end adjacent said outer surface, an integral plug formed on said outer surface in alignment with said passage, said blind end, plug and outer surface defining a disruptable portion between said blind end and outer surface encircling said plug to permit removal thereof, a shutter slidably overlying said outer surface of said base member, an opening in said shutter, cooperating guiding surfaces on said base member and shutter delining a path for displacement of each point of said shutter relative to said base member, said plug of the base member extending outwardly through said opening in said shutter thereby preventing displacement of the shutter relative to the base member, and a cap slidably overlying said shutter and retained and guided on said base member for rotation about an axis aligned with said axial passage and plug, said cap having an axial opening through which said plug extends outwardly, said shutter and cap having interengaging formations coupling said shutter to said cap for displacement of said shutter on said base member along the said cooperating guiding surfaces thereof on rotation of said cap about said axis after removal of said plug.

2. A container closure comprising a base member having an inner and a spheric outer surface, an axial passage extending from said inner surface into said base member and having a blind end adjacent said spheric outer surface, an integral plug formed on said spheric outer surface in axial alignment with said passage, said blind end, plug and outer surface defining a disruptable annular portion of said base member between said blind end and outer surface encircling said plug to permit removal thereof, a calotte-shaped shutter slidably overlying said spheric outer surface of said base member and guided thereon for rotation about an axis which intersects the axis of said axial passage and plug at the center of said spheric outer surface, said shutter having an opening in alignment with said axial passage of the base member and through which said plug thereof extends whereby said shutter is prevented from rotation, and a cap slidably overlying said shutter and retained and guided on said base member for rotation about the axis of said axial passage and plug, said cap having an axial opening through which said plug extends outwardly, said shutter and cap having inter-engaging formations coupling them for joint rotation thereof about their respective axes after removal of said plug.

3. A container closure as claimed in claim 2 in which said calotte-shaped shutter has a spheric inner surface and a spheric outer surface having the same center as said spheric inner surface, and a plane marginal surface, said base member has a plane annular shoulder encircling its said spheric outer surface, and said cap has a spheric inner surface, said spheric inner surface of the cap fitting the spheric outer surface of the shutter, the spheric inner surface of the shutter fitting the spheric outer surface of the base member, and the marginal surface of the shutter slidably abutting the annular shoulder of the base member whereby said shutter is guided for rotation on said base member, said interengaging formations of the shutter and cap being provided on the spheric outer surface of the shutter and on the spheric inner surface of the cap, respectively, and comprising a lug in the shape of a body of revolution projecting above one of these surfaces with its axis directed towards said center, and a groove in the other of these surfaces in a radial plane thereof with respect to the axis of rotation of that one of the shutter or cap to which said other surface belongs, said lug being engaged in said groove.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,080,747 Buckley Dec. 9, 1913 2,064,308 Hopkins Dec. l5, 1936 2,084,529 Landau June 22, 1937 2,098,799 Wilson Nov. 9, 1937 

